Gilani, Manmohan agree that dialogue is the only way forward

Gilani, Manmohan agree that dialogue is the only way forward

A crucial meeting between leaders of Pakistan and India ended here Thursday on a positive note, with both sides agreeing that dialogue was the only way forward.Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani and Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh who met here at the Red Sea resort on the sidelines of the 15th NAM summit, where more than 50 heads of state from the developing world are gathered for the two-day summit, agreed to carry on their talks.
Talking to reporters after the meeting that lasted around three hours; including delegation level and exclusive one-on-one talks, Prime Minister Gilani said Pakistan also raised the issue of threats in Balochistan and other areas.
Prime Minister Gilani said Pakistan has said that all core issues need to be discussed and the composite dialogue should not be bracketed with terrorism.
“Action on terrorism should not be linked to the composite dialogue process and these should not be bracketed.”
He said both the leaders have recognized that “dialogue is the only way forward” and agreed that the foreign secretaries should meet as often as necessary and report to the two foreign ministers who will be meeting on the sidelines of the forthcoming UN General Assembly.
A Joint statement issued at the end of the talks termed the meeting “cordial and constructive” and said the two leaders considered entire gamut of relations and agreed that terrorism was the main threat to both the countries.
“The leaders affirmed their resolve to fight terrorism and to cooperate with each other to this end.”
Prime Minister Singh reiterated the need to bring the perpetrators of Mumbai attack to justice. Prime Minister Gilani assured that Pakistan would do everything in its power in this regard.
He said Pakistan has provided an updated status dossier on the investigation of the Mumbai attacks and had sought additional information and evidence in this regard.
Prime Minister Singh said the dossier was being reviewed.
“Both the leaders agreed that the two countries will share real time, credible and actionable information on any future terrorist threats,” the statement said.
“Prime Minister Gilani mentioned that Pakistan has some information on threats in Balochistan and other areas,” the statement said.
Prime Minister Singh said India was ready to discuss all issues with Pakistan including all outstanding issues. Prime Minister Singh reiterated India’s interest in a stable, democratic Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
The joint statement said; “Both leaders agreed that the real challenge is development and the elimination of poverty. Both leaders resolved to eliminate those factors which prevent our countries from realizing their full potential.”
Pakistan and India agreed to work to create an atmosphere of mutual trust and confidence and reaffirmed their intention to promote regional cooperation.

India and Pakistan Agree to Fight Terror Together

India and Pakistan Agree to Fight Terror Together

The prime ministers of India and Pakistan agreed to cooperate on fighting terrorism and continue talking to each other after the most substantive meeting between leaders of the two countries since the attacks on Mumbai, India, by Pakistan-based militants last year.
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Times Topics: Manmohan Singh Yousaf Raza Gilani
Pakistan’s prime minister pledged to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks to justice, and the two countries agreed to share real-time intelligence on terrorist threats with India, according to a joint statement released by the prime ministers.
Yousaf Raza Gilani, Pakistan’s prime minister, met with Manmohan Singh, his Indian counterpart, in Egypt on Thursday on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement summit meeting in Sharm el-Sheik.
Both the length of the meeting and the fact that the two sides agreed to release a joint statement hinted at a broader progress to resolve differences between the countries. No mention was made of the thorniest of issues that divide them — the foremost being the disputed region of Kashmir — but the statement nonetheless represented a small but not insignificant breakthrough. Both countries acknowledged that terrorism, rather than each other, was the main threat to each nation.
Relations between the neighbors have always been strained, but they broke down completely after the attacks by Pakistan-based Islamic militants in Mumbai that killed 166 people last November. Both have nuclear weapons, and they have fought three wars against each other since India and Pakistan were created in the partition of British India. In recent years Pakistan has also sought to channel antiterrorism funds from the United States toward defenses that would be better suited for a potential war with India.

Read More:http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/17/world/asia/17india.html

Singh and Mahinda meet on sidelines of NAM summit

Singh and Mahinda meet on sidelines of NAM summit

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Mahinda Rajapaksa met on the sidelines of NAM summit on Thursday. Their meeting took place at Maritim Jolie Ville Golf Hotel in Shame El Sheikh shortly after the Singh-Gilani bilateral.
While there is no official word as such on what the two leaders had discussed, informed sources said the conversation mainly focused on the present status of the relief and rehabilitation programme and the plans for finding a lasting political solution to the pestering ethnic imbroglio.
President Rajapaksa is understood to have spoken of his plans and planks to fulfill his commitment to the people. The Indian leader reportedly appreciated the efforts and reiterated the Delhi line for an early solution to the ethnic issue within the framework of united Sri Lanka.
This was their first meeting after the Eelam War ended which also coincided with the return of Singh as Prime Minister for his second successive term.

Read More:http://asiantribune.com/07/17/singh-and-mahinda-meet-on-sidelines-of-nam-summit/

Sri Lanka looks to future with hope and enthusiasm

Sri Lanka looks to future with hope and enthusiasm

President Mahinda Rajapaksa, addressing the 15th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement at Sharm El Shieik, Egypt today (June 15), observed that terrorism not only threatens, but diminishes everyone adding, "Sri Lanka has consistently condemned terrorism in all its forms and therefore we are happy at our success in defeating terrorism on our soil, and hope that the world, like our principled friends here will rejoice with us and not begrudge a victory they should hope will be repeated elsewhere."

The full text of the President’s speech is given below:

http://www.news.lk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10618&Itemid=44

In Egypt, Non-Aligned nations focus on meltdown

In Egypt, Non-Aligned nations focus on meltdown

This July 15, 2009 photo released by the United Nations shows U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, left, speaking with Cuban President Raul Castro after the Non Aligned Movement Summit in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.(AP Photo/UN, Mark Garten

World leaders gathered Wednesday(15TH ) at an Egyptian Red Sea resort town for a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, a 118-nation group that was born during the Cold War but is now struggling to stay relevant.The Sharm el-Sheik summit is the 15th since the movement was created more than five decades ago.

Cuba’s president on Wednesday called for an international financial system that better takes into account developing countries’ interests, as the global recession captured the spotlight at a summit of non-aligned nations.

Raul Castro’s remarks at the opening session of the two-day Non-Aligned Movement’s meeting in this Red Sea resort were echoed by other leaders and build on earlier discussions among officials from the 118-nation grouping of mostly of African, Asian and Latin American nations.

“We demand the establishment of a new international financial and economic structure that relies on the participation of all countries,” Castro said, ahead of handing over the movement’s presidency to Egypt.

“There must be a new framework that doesn’t depend solely on the economic stability and the political decision of only one country,” the Cuban leader said, apparently referring to the United States.
The new system must give developing countries “preferential treatment,” he said without elaborating.

said Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said "the economic crisis has revealed the need to improve the international financial architecture, so we may see the developing world and emerging powers gain more of a say in that realm."
The call by Castro, whose country has been under U.S. sanctions for decades, followed similar demands by the movement's foreign ministers and senior officials who stressed after four days of meetings here that joint action was needed to ward off the global meltdown's impact.
The summit's draft declaration also calls for the group to coordinate with China — attending the summit as an observer — to have their voices heard at international financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
The movement — born in the 1950s ago as a group of nations allied neither with the U.S. nor the Soviet Union — has lost much of its relevance with the end of the Cold War. Over the past two decades, it has become a forum in which developing nations meet to complain.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, in his address, recognized the "challenge" facing the movement's founding principles, saying the group must work closely with developed nations to address the world's biggest problems, such as terrorism and financial instability.

Pakistan Sacrifices in war against Terror

Pakistan Sacrifices in war against Terror

In loving memory of Capt. Omerzeb (Shaheed) – A brave soldier, an obedient son, a caring brother and a loving fiancé !


Since the operation against militants began In April last month, over 1100 militants had been killed and over 60 soldiers had been martyred so far. Yet I never felt the pain of those dying in the name of their country’s sovereignty against terrorism so excruciating as the martyrdom of my sister’s fiancé.
He was only 24 years old, a month older to me and he was very smart and handsome boy. He loved my sister and she loved him and we all love him just as much as his own family loved him he was engaged to my younger sister and they were looking forward to getting married by next year.
On 11th of may 2009he was deployed to lower dir as part of the operation ‘Rah-e-Rast & rsquo; against militants in swat and near- by areas. He left from Rawalpindi and we all prayed for him. We never knew he was leaving forever let me narrate to you what happened just 10 hours before he embraced martyrdom – we Muslims call shahadat & rsquo; it was mid night the beginning of the painful 21st of may was the day when 23 years ago my younger sister came into this world. He sang to her birthday song in 6 different languages, he gave her his prayers and told her how bad he feels for not being there with her on her birthday he was in lower dir and she was here with us in Rawalpindi. She said to him I wish you were here on my birthday I wish I could have celebrated my birthday with you and he replied, do you want me to come over. Should I come over to Rawalpindi in the morning and we celebrate your birthday together? She said yes, please, please do.
He did come over on her birthday but not the way we wanted him to come over. He didn’t come to her waling on his feet, holding a bouquet in his hands just the way he promised to her last night . instead, he came on the shoulders of sad soldiers in a box we call a marty’s coffin! He had been martyred on the 21st of may 2009 the very day my sister came into this world , he left this world forever on my sisters birthday!
I received a call at around 11 30 in the morning I was in Islamabad it was my ill-fated sister and she was crying like a mad woman. She was literally screaming in the phone so I couldn’t understand what she was trying to tell me. I heard something like a blast in lower dir, a strip running on a tv channel showing my sisters fiancé’s name among the martyred. She was hysterical. She wanted me home right away.
I left in panic, I kept praying the news I just heard was false. It look me an hour to reach home form Islamabad to Rawalpindi. I was met with screams of my sister who was out of control of almost everyone. She wasn’t accepting the fact that her love has left her on her birthday. She kept screaming, your guys are lying to me. He is not dead. He cannot leave me. He promised me to celebrate 93 birthdays with me. This was our first. He cant leave me on our(her) first birthday, he promised me 93 birthdays together.
I couldn’t see her like this I had broke down in tears, my mother was half living half dead we all left for his house. What I saw there, I cannot narrate in words. His mother was still tears in her eyes , she hugged me and the first thing she said was, hold on to your sister she will die. Take care of he I was looking at her. This was the mother of a brave soldier, a soldier who was our love one , but a soldier who came home on his love’s birthday but not the way any member of his family or mine would have ever imagined or wanted him back.
Even if I wanted to tell you what my family on the whole and specifically my younger sister is going through, I won’t be able to because there are no words to put down my pain, my family’s loss, his family’s sufferings and most of all my sisters desolation. Two families were destroyed when one solider died. 14 hearts wept dry of blood when one heart stopped beating on the 21st of may all sacrifices in the name of peaceful, safe terrorism free country.
Capt. Omerzeb like many soldiers sacrificed his life for the greater good of his nation but is the nation even thankful to those families who have bee left scarred for life. When sons, brothers, husbands, and fathers die every other day while fighting the militants, how many people in our nation pray for their safety, their long lives, their safe return? They know that when they are sitting in the comforts of their homes, it is these brave man fighting on the borders for them to have that sense of security and comfort.
My heart breaks every time I see my younger sister who has not regained her self so far. Who wakes up in the middle of the night and weeps like a child, who hasn’t eaten 24 hours, and whose eyes have swollen dry of tears that have drained her off completely. I wish this fight against the militants come to an end soon. Till now every time soldiers died, we thought we felt the pain but no, we couldn’t nobody can until your loves one goes away when you are least expecting now, I can truly say I know what a marty’s family goes through when their beloved leaves them forever.
My his soul rest in peace, may all those soldiers who have give their live for the noble cause, for there country rest in peace most of all the families who have lost their sons, their brothers, their husbands and their fathers, may god give them strength, patience, and peace of heart, I post this true story of distraught family , of my family of my loss. Of my younger sister’s anguish to pay tribute to the brave Capt. Omerzeb for his valor and all the love that he gave us in whatever little time we spent with him. God bless us all !

Pakistan Army Chief hosts dinner to share jubilation

Pakistan Army Chief hosts dinner to share jubilation

Chief army of staff in Pakistan General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and his wife hosted a dinner to share the jubilation with Sri Lanka friends on their historic victory against LTTE at the Army House, the official residence of the Commander in Islamabad.
Pakistan’s Sri Lanka high Commissioner Air chief marshal Jayalath Weerakkody and his wife were the chief guests.
General kayani said the Government, the armed forces of Pakistan and the people of Pakistan were glad to be able to share the jubilation of Sri Lanka to be able to share the jubilation of Sri Lanka to crush terrorism in the island nation.
He said Sri Lanka had been Pakistan very close friend for the last so many years and Pakistan was particularly proud about Sri Lanka’s victory over terrorism .While conveying his good wishes to Sri Lanka’s armed forces General Kayani said he is confident the strong cooperation existing at present could be even made stronger in the future. High Commissioner Weerakkody said Sri Lanka and Pakistan political and defense wise enjoy the best of the mutual relations. Even back in 1996. When Sri Lanka faced tremendous difficulties military in quelling the strong militaristic terrorism, aimed both at the armed forces and police as well as unarmed civilians .Pakistan helped the island nation without imposing any conditions. The credit said weerakkody should go to the government the armed forces and the people of Pakistan. He said the help rendered was more precious as it was rendered in the midst of some international opposition he said, he was confident the military relationship world improve in the future.
The high commissioner said during 20 years Sri Lanka became the highest recipient of Pakistani help training about 5,300 armed forces personnel and receiving military hardware.

Implementation of 13th Amendment is a Guarantee of our National Security

Implementation of 13th Amendment is a Guarantee of our National Security
by Dayan Jayatilleka
There are two types of people who assert that President Mahinda Rajapakse is against the 13th amendment or does not intend to or will not implement it. These are the Tamil ultranationalists, the Tamil hawks and their fellow-traveling Sinhala doves, who say that no devolution will emanate from the Rajapakse administration, and the Sinhala hardliners who oppose any kind of devolution and attempt to use President Rajapakse’s patriotic profile behind which to hide their extremism. Some even invoke Mahinda Chinthana, oblivious to the irony that Mahinda Rajapakse can be safely trusted to know the letter and spirit of Mahinda Chinthana better than anyone else.
Read Full Article:http://transcurrents.com/tc/2009/07/implementation_of_13th_amendme.html

Britain relaxes travel restrictions

British High Commissioner Dr. Peter Hayes said the UK Government has relaxed several restrictions on travel to Sri Lanka.
“We no longer discourage British holidaymakers from enjoying leopard-spotting at Yala National Park, surfing at Arugam Bay or admiring the Trincomalee harbour, one of the world’s deepest natural ports,” he said.
“This decision was based on our assessment of the improving security situation in these parts of Sri Lanka,”the British High Commissioner said.
In light of the uncertain security situation in areas recently affected by conflict, we continue to discourage British tourists from traveling to other parts of the Eastern Province and continue to advise against all travel to northern Sri Lanka,” he said.
“Now, we encourage Britons planning to travel around Sri Lanka to read our full travel advisories,” he noted.

4th SAARC Children and Senior Officials’ Conference in Colombo

4th SAARC Children and Senior Officials’ Conference in Colombo

The fourth SAARC Ministerial Conference on Children and the 4th SAARC Senior Officials’ Conference on Children will be held on July 9 and 10 at Hilton Hotel, Colombo.
The event is significant for the region and especially for Sri Lanka because it is going to be held after a period of 13 years and Sri Lanka hosts the event after defeating terrorism after 30 years, Child development and Women’s Empowerment Ministry spokesman said.
The inauguration of the 4th SAARC Senior Officials’ Conference on Children will be held from 9.30 am to 10.40 am on July 9 at Hilton Hotel, Colombo and the 4th SAARC Ministerial Conference on Children to be inaugurated on July 10 at 9.15 am under the patronage of Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka.

Dengu death increase--

Dengue fever claims 163 lives

The number of patients who have died due to dengue fever increased to 163 and more than 14,635 have been infected so far, hospital reports said.
Meanwhile, in addition to the dengue prevention programmes that are being implemented, the Ministry of Health is carrying out raids on dengue mosquito breeding grounds. The Ministry has appointed 10 officials to supervise the dengue control program in 10 districts where the identified 68 MOH areas are located. The program will be implemented by the Civil Defence Committees, Grama Niladharis, Samurdhi animators, MOH officers, PHIs and all the other health officers in the relevant area. The dengue control program consists of educational programs, shramadana campaigns, inspections and taking legal action against persons who do not cooperate with the authorities to destroy mosquito breeding sites.(SST)

Nation building needs advanced foresight -President Rajapaksa

Nation building needs advanced foresight -President Rajapaksa

President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday observed that a Nation could not be built only with dollars and rupees and the lost freedom could not be reinstated simply through power and political means, but needed much advanced foresight, to achive these objectives.
Such foresight, as displayed by the Hikkaduwe Sumangala Thera when establishing a Buddhist School like Ananda(1886), instead of sowing anti-imperialism by just shouting slogans in an era repressed by imperialistic ideologies, had stood the nation in good stead in its hour of need, he added.
“In line with its historical beginning Ananda became a shelter for people that were repressed by imperiolistic ideologies and was a role model for many other Schools which followed the same path in the wake of Ananda”
“That School today has breathed life to the Nation than have a trillion slogans,” the President said participating at a felitication ceremony at Ananda College, Colombo where the historic educational institute paid tribute to its illustrious sons who played a pivotal role in vanquishing the forces of terror.
The President also noted that Ananda over the years had produced men of excellence to the National leadership and although they had excelled in different fields and had chosen different ideologies, they had one common quality, that is the unwavering love for their motherland.
“Therefore the war heroes felicitated by Ananda today, have not only made their Alma Mater proud but also has taught a lesson for all School children in the country on how to be a good leader,” he added

Separate country unrealistic - Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Karunanidhi

"Separate country unrealistic" - Karunanidhi

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi says it would be unrealistic to talk of separate country for Sri Lankan Tamils.He told the state Assembly on Wednesday that it would be unrealistic to talk of a separate country for Sri Lankan Tamils anymore and that it would be best to press for a fair deal for them within Sri Lanka.He also felt it would be unwise on the part of Tamil Nadu political leaders to make any comments that could inflame passions among the Sinhalese.
Chief Minister Karunanidhi said only by working with the Mahinda Rajapakse government could one hope to ensure proper rehabiliation for the displaced Tamils and also secure Tamils of Lanka justice and adequate say in governance.

Tamil protest ends after 73 days

Tamil protest ends after 73 days

Another rally is planned for this Saturday
A 73-day protest involving thousands of people demonstrating over the plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka has ended.
The protest featured hunger strikes, mass sit-ins blocking central London roads and people throwing themselves into the River Thames.
One of those involved, Ambi Seevaratnam said: "After 73 days, nothing has worked. The Tamils have been betrayed by the international community."
Protesters have at times clashed with police in Parliament Square.

Second Swine Flu patient detected

Second Swine Flu patient detected
Health authorities said yesterday that a second confirmed case of Swine Flu had been detected in the country. The new patient has been identified as the brother of the first case detected on Tuesday.
Health Ministry, Epidemiologist Dr. Sudath Peiris said that the parents of the children had however tested negative for the virus. The residence of the family is closely monitored and has been quarantined, he added.
He also said that the health officials were in the process of testing other travelers who were on board the flight which the infected patients had taken from Singapore.
According to Dr. Peiris, 20 identified hospitals through out the country has presently been equipped with necessary drugs along with trained manpower to handle any suspected Swine Flu cases

Pakistan wants result oriented dialogue with India

Pakistan wants result oriented dialogue with India

ISLAMABAD (APP)

Pakistan Wednesday reiterated that it wanted sustainable and result oriented dialogue process with India leading to peaceful settlement of all outstanding issues, especially Jammu and Kashmir. Responding to questions at the weekly briefing this afternoon, Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said, “Pakistan wants resumption of dialogue as quickly as possible as this is necessary to resolve issues facing the two countries and the region.”

About reports that the United States has asked India to resume dialogue with Pakistan, the spokesman said any help for resumption of dialogue is encouraging.

He told a questioner that both President Asif Ali Zardari and Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh would be attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Russia but there is no meeting planned between the two leaders.

To a question he said Mumbai attacks were reprehensible and Pakistan is sparing no efforts to bring perpetrators of the crime to book.

He said Pakistan wished that instead of providing piecemeal information India should have provided all information in one go.

The spokesman said even the latest information received on 20th of last month is in languages other than Urdu and English.

Pakistan has received a part of the document in English and translation of the remaining part is still awaited.

Replying to another question the spokesman said out of 543 million dollars pledged in response to the UN appeal, the world body has so far received about 24 percent of the amount which has been spent on relief activities for IDPs of Swat.

He said both the UN and Pakistan are in touch with the donor community to impress upon them to release the pledged amount without any delay so that there is no disruption in relief activities.

The spokesman said on the sidelines of the SCO summit President Asif Ali Zardari will have bilateral meetings with his Russian counterpart and other leaders. There will also be a trilateral meeting of the Presidents of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Russia to take stock of the regional situation.

To a question he said one of the students who were earlier detained in UK has returned home on his own accord and Pakistan is providing legal assistance to others who wanted to stay there and pursue their studies.

Replying to another question he hoped that now that the composition of the Commission assigned to probe assassination of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto has been completed it would visit Pakistan soon.

Sri Lanka growth slows to 1.5% in first quarter

Sri Lanka growth slows to 1.5% in first quarter

Economic expansion in war-battered Sri Lanka fell to 1.5 percent during the first quarter of this year, as the global recession hurt exports, official data showed Wednesday.
The slowdown contrasted with 6.2 percent growth in the first quarter of 2008, though hopes of long-term development have risen since the government's defeat of Tamil rebels last month after decades of conflict.
"The global turmoil has directly or indirectly affected the local economy," the head of the government's statistics office Suranjana Vidyaratne said.
The growth rate was the lowest in Sri Lanka since 2003, with the industries sector, which includes key shipments of garments, growing by only 1.9 percent against 6.0 percent in the same period in 2008.

Service industries, which include telecom, banking and shipping, grew by 1.0 percent compared with 6.4 percent in the same quarter last year.
Agriculture, focused on exports of tea and rubber, grew by a modest three percent, against 5.9 percent 12 months earlier.
Following the Tamil Tigers' defeat, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka plans to revise the island's economic forecast for 2009 up to between four and five percent, from 2.5 percent to 3.0 percent announced earlier this year.
The end of the war should draw investors into construction and other infrastructure sectors, analysts say.
"When the northern reconstruction comes on stream later this year, that will add a significant impact on the economy. Things will take off," said Chinthaka Ranasinghe, head of research at John Keells Stockbrokers.

Crises boost numbers of displaced

Crises boost numbers of displaced

Displacement in Pakistan has contributed to a new rise in numbers
A slight drop in the number of people uprooted around the world in 2008 has been more than offset by recent crises in Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the UN says.
The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said global displacement stood at 42 million at the end of last year.
Of these, 16 million are refugees and asylum seekers and 26 million internally displaced people.
There are 5.7 million refugees "living in limbo", with little prospect of immediate solutions, UNHCR said.

Click to see a map of the world's displaced people
This includes 29 separate groups of 25,000 or more refugees in 22 states who have been displaced for five or more years, the agency said in its annual report.

Pope appoints Malcolm Ranjith as Colombo archbishop

Pope appoints Malcolm Ranjith as Colombo archbishop

Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Archbishop Albert Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don -one of his most trusted collaborators in the Vatican and a forceful advocate for justice and peace- to head the archdiocese of Colombo in Sri Lanka.Archbishop Albert Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige DonA strong leader, he returns as head of the Sri Lankan Church in what many observers see as a particularly difficult moment. A bloody 25-year civil war has just ended with the military defeat of the Tamil Tigers rebels but which has raised many questions about the conduct of the final phase of the war and, more importantly, has not resolved the root causes of that conflict.One of only two Asians in top positions in the Roman Curia the other being Indian Cardinal Ivan Dias, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of the Peoples he succeeds Archbishop Oswald Gomis, who reached the official retirement age of 75 over 18 months ago.

The Vatican made the announcement on June 16, confirming rumors that have circulated in Rome for almost a year.The Pope has appointed the American Dominican, Father Joseph Augustine ("Gus") Di Noia to succeed Archbishop Ranjith as Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments and has promoted him to the rank of archbishop. Father Di Noia is well known to the Pope as they worked together in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, when the future Pope was head of that Vatican office and the Dominican priest was under-secretary.

First Swine Flu case in Sri lanka

First Swine Flu case in Sri lanka

First Swine Flu case in Sri lankaThe first person diagnosed with Swine Flu has been found in the country, said Healthcare and Nutrition Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva yesterday evening at a hurriedly convened press conference held at the Health Ministry in Colombo.The patient detected from Wattala is an eight-year old boy who has arrived from Australia to attend a wedding function. He had come with his father last Sunday, June 14.A (H1N1) virusSwine influenza (swine flu, hog flu and pig flu) is an infection of a host animal by any one of several specific types of microscopic organisms called swine influenza virus.The 2009 outbreak flu outbreak is due to a new strain of subtype H1N1 not previously reported in pigs. The strain can be transmitted from human to human. The influenza is quite common in pigs. Direct transmission of swine flu from pigs to humans is occasionally possible.The influenza A (H1N1) virus was first detected in Mexico in late April. It has infected 36,000 people in 76 countries and claimed 163 lives according to latest WHO figures.As the boy was suffering from high fever and cough the parents have informed the Australian High Commission in Colombo, which later informed the Epidemiology Unit of the Health Ministry.The boy was thereafter admitted to the Infectious Diseases Hospital at Angoda, where he is receiving treatment at present.The Minister requested the public not to panic as all necessary medicines to treat Swine Flu is available in the country and the Ministry was prepared for any eventuality. The Government has already drawn plans to contain the spreading of Swine Flu, he added.

TRUE FREEDOM

TrueFreedom

Precision jumping by members of the parachute brigade for today’s National Victory Parade at the Galle Face Green.

Picture by Ranjith Jayaweera(Daily News)

I am the proudest Head of State who delivered a unitary nation- President

I am the proudest Head of State who delivered a unitary nation- President

“The last breath of our heroic troops must be blowing in the wind where the national flag I hoisted today, flies proudly. Therefore, with every breath we take we must remember these heroic sons and daughters of our land. I also offer my respect to the high morale of our valiant troops who have been disabled but courageously participated in this event on their wheel chairs.

There is an unique value in the sacrifices made by our heroic troops. Those great sacrifices have not been in vain.
You have lost your feet in enabling a nation to rise on its feet. You have lost your hands, eyes, flesh and blood in providing a pleasant and prosperous land to this world. Our responsibility is to honour those great sacrifices by joining to build a great nation” President Mahinda Rajapaksa said at the Victory Day Parade to pay national tribute to the Security Forces following the defeat of terrorism at Galle Face Green, Colombo today (03)

Pakistan open for private sector to involve infrastructure projects

Asia News -Pakistan

Pakistan open for private sector to involve infrastructure projects

President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday advised the government to consider developing a new model for undertaking big infrastructure projects by involving private sector banks through equity sharing. He made this observation during a briefing on the public sector development projects for the current year 2009-10.
The President said that the new model may be tested on an experimental basis and if it proved workable it may be replicated.
President Asif Ali Zardari said that due to pressure on equity with the government the private sector may be induced for equity participation in the infrastructure projects.
He said that by adopting this model new avenues could be opened for undertaking new developmental projects more aggressively.

Pakistan Presidnent Zardari Urges Business to Help Rebuild Swat Once Taliban Ousted

Pakistan Presidnent Zardari Urges Business to Help Rebuild

President Asif Ali Zardari called on Pakistan’s business community to help rebuild towns in the Swat Valley destroyed in fighting with Taliban insurgents.
Security forces say they are close to driving militants from Swat and neighboring districts in the northwest after a five-week offensive. The fighting has forced 3 million civilians to flee the area.
The government needs “assistance in undertaking the gigantic construction phase of the operation after the return of the displaced people to their homes,” President Zardari told officials yesterday in the capital, Islamabad, according to the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan.

Sri Lanka confident of finding home-grown solution -Mahinda Samarasinghe Human Rights Minister

Sri Lanka confident of finding home-grown solution - Human Rights Minister

The government of Sri Lanka have already in the process of finding a home-grown political solution for the ethnic issue while addressing more immediate problems at hand, said Hon Mahinda Samarasinghe, Minister of Disaster Management and Human Rights. Also , he said that international community has no reason to doubt Sri Lanka's capability in finding such solution as she has already overcome a challenge that the world was unable to achieve. He made this comments on Tuesday (June 2) addressing the 11th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council held in Geneva.

Full speach:http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20090602_05

UN Security Council to discuss Sri Lanka on Friday

UN Security Council to discuss Sri Lanka on Friday

New York, June 3 (DPA) The UN Security Council plans to meet with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon this week to discuss the situation in Sri Lanka for the first time since fighting ceased in the island nation, the council's president said Tuesday.

Ban Ki-moon will brief the 15-nation council behind closed doors on Friday and it will be an 'unofficial, interactive dialogue,' said Turkish Ambassador Baki Ilkin, whose country presides over the body in June. He provided no other details.

UN rejects Sri Lanka toll cover-up

UN rejects S Lanka toll cover-up

The UN secretary general has dismissed allegations that the UN covered up a high civilian death toll during the last phase of the Sri Lanka conflict.
Ban Ki-Moon said he "categorically rejected" reports that the UN had "deliberately underestimated" the toll.

French and British newspapers, citing confidential UN reports, last week said more than 20,000 civilians were killed.
The Sri Lankan government has strongly denied the claims surrounding its recent onslaught against Tamil rebels.
The figure was also disputed by UN human rights chief John Holmes who said an investigation would be a good idea.
'Not yet known'
"I categorically reject - repeat, categorically - any suggestion that the United Nations has deliberately underestimated any figures," Mr Ban said in a speech to the General Assembly.
"In regard to some reports in the media, I should emphasise that the final total is not yet known," the UN secretary general said.
"Most of these figures do not emanate from the UN and most are not consistent with the information at our disposal," he said.

Debris was seen in the conflict zone after Sri Lanka declared the war over
The secretary general added: "Let me also say, whatever the total, the casualties in the conflict were unacceptably high."
On 23 May, Mr Ban visited a huge camp for refugees who fled fighting between Tamil rebels and government forces.
The UN secretary general toured the main government-run camp for about 220,000 refugees at Manik Farm, near Vavuniya.
The figure of 20,000 - published last week by the French newspaper Le Monde and then the Times newspaper in the UK and quoting official UN documents and witness accounts - is far higher than previous estimates.
The UN has said that there were no confirmed estimates of civilian casualties, and its last estimate two weeks before the end of the war said 6,500 people had died.

On Saturday, leading human rights group Amnesty International called for an urgent inquiry into claims of civilian deaths.
The group also urged the UN to publicise its estimate of the death toll.
The UN's senior humanitarian affairs co-ordinator John Holmes queried the figures but said the claims needed to be examined.
"I think a lot of the figures which are floating around don't have much justification behind them.
"But nevertheless, there have been serious charges against the [Tamil Tiger rebels]... for holding civilians as human shields for such a long time, and thereby being indirectly responsible for their deaths.
"And against the government for using heavy weapons in an area where there are so many civilians and thereby, not deliberately, but again causing many civilian deaths."
He added: "No-one was there, no-one knows and we may never know. And that's why an investigation would be a good idea."
Foreign journalists and humanitarian groups were barred from the conflict zone and although the Red Cross entered, it does not give evidence in international courts.
Senior Sri Lankan officials have consistently denied the accusation.

India First woman Speaker-Ms.Meira Kumar

India to have first woman Speaker (BBC Report)

Ms Kumar's election as Speaker is a certainty India's parliament is to have its first woman Speaker after a sweeping win for the Congress party in recent elections. Meira Kumar, 64, filed her nomination papers on Tuesday and is expected to be elected unopposed on Wednesday. Ms Kumar belongs to the low-caste Dalit - formerly untouchable - community. Her nomination has been welcomed by members of political parties across the house. She had been sworn in as a cabinet minister, but resigned on Sunday after Congress offered her the Speaker's job. India's newly-elected lower house of parliament, the Lok Sabha, began its first session on Monday. 'Historic moment' Ms Kumar, who has been elected to parliament five times, is the daughter of the late Babu Jagjivan Ram, a prominent Dalit leader and former deputy prime minister of India. She confirmed to reporters that she had filed her nomination papers on Tuesday. "Tomorrow is the election and it is a historic moment and it is a very overwhelming moment for me," Ms Kumar was quoted by news agency Reuters as saying. "Historic because a woman has been considered for this very important and august position." Congress won a decisive mandate in the recent general elections and Ms Kumar has emerged as a consensus candidate, with the main opposition BJP and other parties also supporting her. Ms Kumar was earlier sworn in as a minister and given charge of the water resources ministry. Analysts say naming her as Speaker works to the advantage of the Congress as it helps the party position itself as pro-women. It also projects Congress as a party which is concerned about the welfare of the low-caste Dalits who have faced discrimination from upper-caste Hindus for centuries.

Journalist Poddala Jayantha, secretary SLWJA abducted and severely assaulted

Journalist Poddala Jayantha, secretary SLWJA abducted and severely assaulted

Poddala Jayantha, General Secretary of Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association was abducted by an unknown group yesterday.

He was on his way back home form work and abducted some close to Nugagoda town. Some people who have seen him pushed in to a white van alerted the journalists on the abduction.
Later he was found left on the road side by some people. He had been severely assaulted. Later he was admitted to ICU of the Colombo general hospital. Reports say that he is out of danger.

Inspector General of police accused unmanned journalists for obtaining money form the LTTE to campaign for media freedom in Sri Lanka. State controlled TV net work ITN showed visuals of Poddala Jayantha on its segment called After News while repeating the same accusation.

On 22nd May editorial of the state controlled Sinhala language daily called for stoning and expelling of so called professional journalists who grow beards. (Poddala Jayantha is known for his beard)

Last few weeks has seen continued attacks on journalists who campaigned for media freedom and justice for abducted and killed journalists in Sri Lanka calling them traitors by various politicians and pro state and state controlled media.

Last Titanic survivor dies, aged 97

Last Titanic survivor dies, aged 97
LONDON (Reuters)


The last survivor of the 1912 sinking of the "Titanic," Millvina Dean, has died in a nursing home in England at the age of 97, the Titanic International Society said on Monday.
Dean was just nine weeks old when her family sold a pub they owned in London to travel on the maiden voyage of the passenger liner and begin a new life in Wichita, Kansas, in the United States, where her father Bertram hoped to open a tobacconist shop.
Her father was one of the 1,517 people who died after the supposedly unsinkable ship hit an iceberg in the Atlantic and sank.
Dean, who was wrapped in a sack to protect her from the cold and lowered into a lifeboat, was the youngest of the 706 Titanic survivors. Her mother Georgetta and two-year-old brother Bertram also survived, dying in 1975 and 1992 respectively.
Dean, who never married, said she had no memory of the disaster but was told of the event at the age of eight when her mother was about to remarry.
It wasn't until Dean was aged in her 70s that she became a Titanic celebrity, appearing at conventions, exhibitions and in documentaries and other media about the ill-fated ship.
The Titanic International Society said on its website that Dean passed away in her sleep early Sunday at a nursing home near Southampton. She was recently released from hospital after a bout with pneumonia.
Last month the stars of the Hollywood blockbuster movie "Titanic" -- Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet and the film's director James Cameron -- donated $30,000 to support Dean in her last years after it was reported that she had resorted to selling her autograph to pay her nursing home bills.
The 1997 drama "Titanic" made more than $1.8 billion at the worldwide box office, making it the highest-grossing film of all time in figures not adjusted for inflation.

FOR MORE PICTURES AND DETAILS

http://www.lastingtribute.co.uk/tribute/dean/3088046

:http://titanicinternational.wordpress.com/

http://www.titanicinternationalsociety.org/

May 31st-World No Tobacco Day 2009

May 31st-World No Tobacco Day 2009

The theme of World No Tobacco Day 2009 is "Tobacco Health Warnings", with an emphasis on the picture warnings that have been shown to be particularly effective at making people aware of the health risks of tobacco use and convincing them to quit. More and more countries are fighting back against the epidemic of tobacco by requiring that packages of tobacco show the dangers of the product's use, as called for in guidelines to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death. More than 1.2 million people die every year in South-East Asia Region due to tobacco use. The wide-spread use of tobacco products in the Region has resulted from unrestricted use of marketing tools by the tobacco industry, the addictive nature of nicotine and the lack of knowledge about the harmful effects of tobacco products among tobacco users and non-users in the form of second-hand tobacco smoke. The lack of regulation of the tools of a product that kills half of its users has exposed the population to the misinformation of the tobacco industry about the suitability of their products.
The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in its Article 11 mandates that countries should enact effective measures to ensure appropriate health warnings on tobacco products packages. It also says that these health warnings should be rotating, large, clear, visible, legible and include pictures or pictograms and occupy at least 50% or more and no less than 30% of the principal display areas. The third session of the Conference of the Parties (COP), held in Durban, South Africa in November 2008 also adopted guidelines for implementation of Article 11 which provide detailed information for countries to effectively implement their obligations in relation to Packaging and Labelling of Tobacco Products. In addition, the MPOWER Policy Package promotes effective tobacco health warnings as an intervention under its one of the six policies - “Warn about the dangers of tobacco”.
Comprehensive health warnings about the dangers of tobacco use play a vital role in changing its image, especially among adolescents and young adults. Text and pictorial health warnings are useful to communicate the health risks of tobacco use, provoke more thought about the health risks of tobacco use and have a greater emotional response and generate increased motivation and intention to quit. They are particularly effective in communicating health effects to comparative low literate populations, children and young people.
Call for action
PLACING PICTURE WARNINGS ON ALL TOBACCO PRODUCTS IS AN APPROPRIATE AND HIGHLY COST-EFFECTIVE WAY TO WARN CONSUMERS ABOUT THE RISKS OF TOBACCO AND TO REDUCE TOBACCO CONSUMPTION
Call to policy-makers
Promote your country's accession to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, whose Article 11 guidelines lay out the elements of effective tobacco health warnings.
Use the MPOWER package — specifically, the "W", which stands for "Warn about the dangers of tobacco" — to counter the tobacco epidemic and to help countries meet their commitments under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
Require by law that all tobacco products display large picture warnings about the harm caused by tobacco and its many other negative consequences.
Build on the experiences of other countries to craft the most effective warnings and implement them for the greatest possible impact.
Base your decisions on impartial scientific evidence, not on the claims of the tobacco industry. Tobacco companies oppose strong health warnings, particularly those with pictures. The arguments they use against health warnings are false and should not be relied upon.

Call to civil society and nongovernmental organizations
Advocate for picture-based warnings on all tobacco products.
Campaign for and help to develop and implement laws that require picture-based warnings on tobacco products.
Act as a watchdog to monitor tobacco-industry packaging strategies and compliance with statutory warnings.
Evaluate and share information about the effectiveness of picture warnings.

Call to the public
Demand your right to know the truth — the whole truth — about the dangers of tobacco use and exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke.
Let everyone know that you support picture warnings.

New pictures in former no war free zone area

Former War free zone now through camara eye

This is the present pictures of the former no-fire zone in Vellamullivaikkal, Irattavaikkal etc.
These are rial photos were captured by AP, Times and Reuter photo journalists from the helicopter UN General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon travelled over the no-fire zone.
Click This to enlarge

(Lankaenews report)

Sri Lanka rejects deaths report

Sri Lanka rejects deaths report
(BBC Report)
The Times says that the deaths happened during the Tigers' last stand
The Sri Lankan government has strongly denied allegations that more than 20,000 civilians were killed during its recent onslaught against Tamil rebels.
The figures published in The Times newspaper in the UK - quoting official documents and witness accounts - is far higher than previously thought.
A senior official from Sri Lanka's Centre for National Security told the BBC the accusations were totally false.
The UN says that there are no confirmed estimates of civilian casualties.
The last time it gave an estimate was about two weeks before the end of the war, when it said that 6,500 people had died.
But the UN Resident Co-ordinator for Sri Lanka, Neil Buhne, has told the BBC that he has no final figure in part because access to displaced people in camps is restricted by the government.
The government's denials are likely to be dismissed by many of its critics, who accuse it of repeatedly giving out inaccurate information about what has been happening in the north.
Aid agencies point out that its insistence that only about 110,000 civilians were trapped in fighting in the north - and its condemnation of UN figures saying the true figure was twice that - was followed by more than 250,000 civilians emerging from the area.
Expert testimony
The Times on Friday published what it said were photographs showing a devastated area in the former conflict zone where an estimated 100,000 people were sheltering.
The government says that it is doing all it can to protect displaced people
It said that more than 20,000 Tamil civilians had been killed in the final throes of the war, most as a result of government shelling.
Video evidence published by The Times suggests that the Tamil Tigers established mortar positions and military encampments within camps for displaced people, which were then shelled by the military.
Government forces were meant to have stopped using heavy weapons on 27 April.
From that time onwards they were supposed to observe a no-fire zone where 100,000 Tamil men, women and children were sheltering.
The paper says that it compiled its evidence using aerial photographs, official documents, witness accounts and expert testimony.
"The offensive ended Sri Lanka's 26-year civil war with the Tamil Tigers, but innocent civilians paid the price," the Times says.
It says that the evidence was compiled from confidential UN documents which record 6,500 civilian deaths in the no-fire zone up to the end of April, with an average of 1,000 civilians killed each day until 19 May, the day after Velupillai Prabhakaran, the leader of the Tamil Tigers, was killed.
'Jilted old woman'
A senior official from Sri Lanka's Centre for National Security, Laksham Hullegalle said there had been no shelling or killing in the zone, and that the photographs were "totally unbelievable".
Fighting intensified in the latter stages of the war
"The decision was taken by the government not to use any heavy weapons from the beginning of this month," he said.
"From that time onwards there was no heavy shelling."
Mr Hullegalle said there was a possibility the photos were fake and that there had been no corroborating evidence from civilians who fled the area and no bodies discovered.
The Permanent Secretary to the Sri Lankan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr Palitha Kohona, also dismissed the report.
"I am bemused that The Times, like a jilted old woman, is continuing a bitter campaign against Sri Lanka based on unverified figures and unsubstantiated assertions," he said.
"The simple fact is that Sri Lanka eliminated a detestable terrorist group and in the process rescued over 250,000 hostages held as a human shield by the terrorists."